


Pirates

by EaSnowPw



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: But neither of the couple, Character Death, M/M, Pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 08:39:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17998553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EaSnowPw/pseuds/EaSnowPw
Summary: "PARKER, TELL STARK THAT IF HE DOESN'T GET HIS ASS ON DECK, I'LL FRY IT!""Sorry, captain, I was getting a new bandage. You know, work hazards, can't let it get infected et cetera, et cetera," Tony replied. He got whacked with a gun over the back of his head and pouted, but followed the captain to the chest.





	Pirates

**Author's Note:**

> When I first saw this on my bingo card, I wanted to change it. Then I remembered Fury's eyepatch and this wrote itself.

"PARKER, TELL STARK THAT IF HE DOESN'T GET HIS ASS ON DECK, I'LL FRY IT!"   
  
"On it, sir, Mr Fury, captain, sir!"  
  
Natasha grinned when Peter returned empty-handed, saying that Mr Stark was in the medical bay again.  
  
"Oh, he's banging Strange again. I swear, these two... STARK!" the captain yelled from outside the med bay. "You have 10 seconds before I come in and I promise you're both getting a bullet if I see anything indecent!"  
  
He was ready to kick the door when it opened, revealing a grumpy doctor and a grinning shipwright.  
  
"What took you so long?"  
  
"Sorry, captain, I was getting a new bandage. You know, work hazards, can't let it get infected et cetera, et cetera," Tony replied. He got whacked with a gun over the back of his head and pouted, but followed the captain to the chest.   
  
Bruce had just managed to open it after a few days. People called him Hulk, but the crew knew the truth: it wasn't his strength opening the unopenable chests, but his mind. He was the best lock picker in the world. "So, what have we got here?"  
  
"If you wouldn't have been busy playing patient and doctor, you would've already put a price on it," Clint griped. "I got a new shotgun, but we were thinking of selling this trinket." He carelessly tossed a small handgun at Tony, who lifted it up with a critical eye. On top of being the shipwright, he was a weaponsmith, though that was a bit hard at sea. Still, his knowledge of weapons proved useful.  
  
"Well, take out the diamonds and we might be on to something. Nope, sorry boss, this one's just shiny. It's pathetic, really. If anyone aimed it at me, I wouldn't even cower. I can probably increase its accuracy, but don't get your hopes up."  
  
"Price?"  
  
"Say... 1000-2000? Though that's mostly the diamonds. Sell it to a lady." He tossed the gun at Natasha, who nodded. "Whatcha got there, doc?" he asked his lover, who was unsubtly poking around the chest. His cape had tilted its head to the side, curious.  
  
"There's something cursed in the chest," Wanda explained from somewhere behind Tony, startling him.  
  
"Out in the sun, witch? Take care not to get burned."  
  
"That's funny, Stark, considering you're banging a witch yourself."  
  
"Sorcerer," Stephen retorted distantly.  
  
"Should we be worried?" Fury asked. "I don't want this motherfucking chest to be the last we ever open."  
  
"No," Wanda replied.  
  
"Yes," Stephen said at the same time.  
  
"I can redirect the curse to the next ship we find."  
  
The sorcerer rolled his eyes, but pulled out a dark sword from the golden coins. Tony would hand it to him, that thing looked cursed even to him. His cloak wrapped around it, as if to shield them. Wanda frowned. Stephen held the cloaked sword.  
  
"There. We should burry it on the next island we find."  
  
"How about selling it to someone?" Natasha asked.  
  
"Who would be stupid enough to buy an obviously cursed sword?" Tony pointed out. "I mean, it's cool, got black smoke coming off it, but who would be retarded enough?"  
  
"Hammer."  
  
"Ok, we're selling it."  
  
"TONY!" Stephen bristled.  
  
"How about we let the captain make the decision?" Steve asked. Bucky agreed from next to him. Everyone turned towards Fury, who was frowning.  
  
"What does the curse entail, exactly?"  
  
"Misfortune."  
  
"Disease and death."  
  
Again, the two magic users aboard glared at each other.  
  
"Can we all vote to kick Wanda off, plank-style?" Tony suggested.  
  
"Yeah, kick out the curse maker. Good thinking, genius," Clint retorted.  
  
"What sort of disease?" Fury asked Stephen.  
  
"Remember the black death?" Everyone shuddered. They'd all lost loved ones to it. "That one." He paused for dramatic effect, then added. "We need to burry it. As a human being and a healer, I cannot let it get into a populated area."  
  
"Some good human beings were to you," Wanda muttered, glaring at his hands. Stephen's grip on the sword tightened. Tony wrapped a hand around his and returned her glare.  
  
"Are we safe?" Fury pressed. "Can your relic shield us? Or should we just dump it into the ocean?"  
  
"Not the ocean!" Stephen said quickly. "It would poison the fish. Definitely not populated land. Just an abandoned island will do. And yes, the cloak will shield us for as long as necessary."  
  
"I can curse the island to never be found," Wanda offered.  
  
"Now you wanna be useful?" Tony snapped.  
  
"Tony," Stephen called. The shipwright sighed, but nodded.  
  
"Then that's what we're going to do," Fury decided. "We'll burry it where we found that chest."  
  
"Sure, sounds simple."

* * *

Of course it wasn't so simple.  
  
Steve and Bucky got to digging, but Peter soon called everyone, saying that the Hydra  pirates were approaching.  
  
"They have Loki and Mordo!" Clint added after he took a better look.  
  
"Two magical users. Doesn't look good," Steve commented. "We should leave it here and run for it."  
  
"Wanda still has to curse the island," Stephen insisted. "The hole is big enough. Get out."  
  
Steve and Bucky got out. After the Cloak unraveled and dropped the cursed sword, Stephen used a spell to fill the hole, making the two glare at him.  
  
"Everyone head to the ship," Fury ordered. "Get ready for battle. Wanda, curse the island, then join us."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Leave Loki to me," Thor told her. She frowned, but nodded.  
  
"Be careful."

* * *

The crew was back on the ship within minutes. The enemies fired their canons at them, but Stephen's defensive spells held on. Unfortunately, so did Mordo's. Then a magical duel followed as the ships approached each other. Tony stared at his boyfriend, worried as he became more and more worn out, exhaustion making itself known. He had to catch him when he fell down, dizzy.  
  
"Hey, stay with me, doc."  
  
Blue-green eyes fluttered open.  
  
"I can't do it, not against both of them."  
  
"Yes, you can, sweetheart." Tony hated himself for pushing his boyfriend like that, but they would all die if he didn't. "The Ancient One chose you, remember?"  
  
It was Thor who struck the enemy ship next, penetrating their magical shields and making noteworthy damage. The rest of the crew stared at him.  
  
"The God of Thunder's hammer..." Stephen whispered.  
  
"BROTHER!" Thor yelled.  
  
He jumped on the other deck, charging right at Loki. Stephen groaned as he pulled himself up and made a portal for the rest of the crew. Once on Hydra's ship, he zeroed in on Mordo, who looked well rested. Shit.  
  
"You have no idea what a mistake you're making, Stephen," Mordo began.  
  
"That sword is a curse, Mordo."  
  
"No, it brings balance. Death and life need to be balanced. And what did we do? We chose to live, to decide who lives and who dies. We don't have that power. That sword is unnatural. The curse was artificially locked within it. It's not a curse at all. It's just a normal disease."  
  
"And I'm a doctor. I'll always protect humans from diseases."  
  
"Then you shall perish for it."  
  
Mordo was strong. He was well rested. His magic was powerful. Stephen was slipping. Normally, he'd be stronger, but 2 vs 1...  
  
The last thing he saw was a flash of white, followed by red.

* * *

Chaos magic was the worst type of magic. It was inherently evil and cruel, always twisting, altering the user and never giving them any breaks. She didn't mean the mean things she said, well, most of the time. She knew that Stephen could tell, could see into her soul and that was why he cut her some slack, unlike Tony and most of the crew. She was really, really lucky to have another magic user on board, especially someone so kind.  
  
Chaos magic also granted her visions of the future, particularly of everyone's deaths. For a moment, Wanda hesitated, but she knew that, after her lover's death, there had been nothing left of her, nothing except for the erosion of the stupid magic Hydra had cursed her with. They'd lied. They'd told her that chaos magic could heal her parents. If couldn't. It couldn't save her brother. It couldn't save her lover when that stupid disease appeared on his forehead.  
  
But it could save her friends at such an affordable price...

* * *

When Thor raised the hammer again, lightning struck down the ship and all his enemies. Loki stared in wonder.  
  
"How?"  
  
"Come with me, brother!"  
  
Before he could answer (something biting, like "You cannot intimidate me into following you"), his senses prickled. Something big was coming. Something magical.  
  
A red mist quickly approached from the forest, encompassing the ship. The pirates all looked around, not understanding what was happening.

* * *

Tony got a sense of wrongness, something pulling at him. He blindly followed, unsure he wouldn't be walking off the deck. Soon enough, Stephen came into view. He'd passed out again. Tony's heart sunk into a bucket of ice. He shouldn't have left his lover alone. He ran to his side, only to see, through the mist, a shiny weapon slowly approaching his sweetheart's neck. Same type Stephen wielded so beautifully. Mordo. Tony didn't even hesitate. He lifted his gun and emptied the rounds into the man threatening his soulmate.  
  
The shiny weapon vanished and the body started falling in slow motion. Perfect. Tony looked around. The red mist was clearing around him and he could now see his friends. Steve and Bucky were a force of nature, as always. There were at least 10 dead people around them.  
  
Fury, the son of a bitch, had taken down an honourable number of people with his weapons. Sword in one hand, gun in another, he had cleared a circle around himself.   
  
Thor was trying to talk to Loki, who was frozen, like their enemies.   
  
Bruce and Nat were sneaking off with Hydra's most valuable possessions. Pockets full, Nat's knife was already dripping blood.  
  
Before the mist cleared, he saw Clint in the crow's nest. He'd taken a life with each bullet, as per usual.  
  
Stephen, beautiful, kind, perfect Stephen stirred at his side.  
  
"Wanda..." he croaked.  
  
And Tony realized where the red mist which had saved his lover came from.

* * *

"We can't take him in after he spent the last 5 years trying to kill us," Fury tried to explain to Thor.  
  
"Apologies, my brother is an idiot and doesn't understand basic logic," Loki explained.

* * *

In the med bay, Tony was trying to comfort Stephen, with varying degrees of success.  
  
"Babe, it wasn't your fault..."  
  
"No, it was, Tony! If I'd just been stronger, or faster, or told you to stay by my side, even Clint, God..."  
  
"Steph..."  
  
"She was a CHILD, Tony!" the sorcerer cried. "She wasn't even 20."  
  
"And she chose to save you. She chose to die on that island, knowing nobody would ever find it again. She chose to sacrifice herself for us, maybe just to make me say I've been wrong about her all this time, but she'd known!" Tony made his lover face him, as much as his tears broke his heart. "Please don't cheapen her sacrifice by beating yourself up."  
  
Stephen jerked his head from Tony's grip, tears falling down his cheeks as his lips trembled. It was true. They'd talked to everyone and while they'd all been helped, only Stephen had been in immediate danger.  
  
"Doc, Fury wants you on deck," Clint called, slowly opening the door. Whether out of respect for the mourning or to avoid scarring his eyes, Tony couldn't tell. "Something about whether you could work with Loki or not."  
  
Stephen wiped his tears and nodded. Due to he dark corner he'd chosen to break down in, Clint couldn't see any details, so Tony said  
  
"Coming!"  
  
Stephen pulled himself together, schooling his face into a mask of professionalism. The sight saddened Tony, knowing how much his lover was actually suffering. All he could do was kiss his cheek before they stepped into the light.  
  
"I love you," Stephen whispered, shifting into a full, albeit brief kiss.

* * *

Loki and Stephen stared at each other.  
  
"You're from Kamar Taj," Loki noticed. "Like the other one. Though, I must say, I'm impressed you managed to hold off both of us for so long."  
  
"Your magic is unique," Stephen noticed. "From the northern lands, like the hammer."  
  
"Family tradition. My brother was too dumb for it, though. Our parents figured that a hammer suited his skillset much better."  
  
"Insulting your brother isn't bringing you into our good graces," the sorcerer pointed out.  
  
"What would? Perhaps a more... sexually appealing appearance? Let me go and I can make the necessary adjustments," the bound man offered. He felt his red bindings twitch.  
  
"Remind me again why we should trust you," Fury asked.  
  
"You need two magic users in a crew, as earlier demonstrated."  
  
"And why can't we just pick one up in the next port and sell you to a slave trader?"  
  
Thor made a squeak of protest, which ended when Steve elbowed him. Bucky was on his other side. For all the good it would do them if Thor remembered to use the hammer.  
  
Loki was now staring at Stephen, who sighed in defeat.  
  
"Our energies are very compatible."  
  
Silence.  
  
"I'm sorry, love, run that by me again," Tony said slowly.  
  
"It's a 1+1=3 type of deal."  
  
"To be fair, you're very strong on your own, perhaps the strongest of your people," Loki pointed out. "I'm the strongest of mine. Together, I dare say we would be nearly unstoppable, regardless of how many other magic users we run into."  
  
"There's that." Stephen sighed. It was tempting, yes, to test what he and Loki could do together, how far they could push the limits of their powers. He could see that he wasn't the only one whose magic was itching for possibility. Despite the cloak binding Loki's energy (or maybe because of it), he felt drawn to it. He glanced at Tony, wishing he could understand. "If you stay, we'll make a pact. You will not harm anyone from this crew in any way, magically or not."  
  
Loki held his gaze, his energy twitching along the bindings, searching, but for what, Stephen couldn't say. In the end, the wizard nodded.  
  
"Then we'll take you on probation," Fury decided.  
  
The cloak returned to its normal shape, on Loki's back, ready to restrain him again should need be, while the two magic users made their pact. Their energies shone around them, intertwining. When it was done, they stepped away from each other.  
  
Tony was immediately by Stephen's side, wary.  
  
"So, we exchanged one witch with dubious loyalties with another with ever more dubious loyalties?" he quipped. Stephen squeezed his hand in reprimand.  
  
For his part, Loki grinned and his body began shifting. Right in front of them, his waist thinned, hips widened and chest grew. His hair grew while his face softened into feminine angles. His clothes adapted similarly, showing off in all the right places without being obnoxious.  
  
Tony stared at the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He squeezed back Stephen's hand to ground himself into reality. This was happening.  
  
"Ok, we'll talk about this later," Stephen decided. "Steve and Bucky, I need to change your bandages. Follow me."  
  
Tony joined him into the med bay, because he knew that once his lover would no longer be busy, Wanda's death would haunt him again. Now they had another troublesome witch to watch out for.

* * *

* * *

* * *

**Epilogue:**  
  
"For God's sake... STARK, STRANGE AND ODINSON, GET YOUR ASSES HERE RIGHT NOW!" Fury barked.  
  
There was a lot of shuffling from the med bay, a few curses and Loki's hiss of "use magic, you idiot", then the 3 appeared on deck. Loki had returned to his normal shape after a few days with them. He and Stephen had red marks on their necks. Tony was grinning like he'd won the lottery.  
  
Fury glared at them, then presented the situation. Ship on the horizon. The sorcerers exchanged grins. This was going to be fun.


End file.
